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Friday, April 27, 2012

Dominion and Stewardship - LBC Post

Dominion and Stewardship! Who thinks up these titles? A certain member of my Consortium who is not blogging nowadays? Well, I did give up a title for posting recently (My Wildest Fantasy) and then went AWOL that particular weekend. I never did reveal what my wildest fantasy was. I suppose it would be only fitting that I do. So what's my wildest fantasy? A weekend of complete, uninterrupted reading and lots of chocolate. That's the fantasy. Sounds pretty tame, huh? Well there are others, but I'm not revealing them. If someone makes me a huge offer or something, I might reconsider, but only just for a second. Because I'm basically quite shy really. Privacy is important to me. Even if I occasionally reveal my innermost thoughts and feelings on the blog.

Last week's post was 'Dance'. I was unable to show up that day. Dancing is something I did a lot of when I was younger. I don't do much of that now. But I do know basic Irish dancing and can hold my own if I showed up at a ceili (that's a dance where you just dance to Irish music). Come to think of it, anyone can, really. Particularly if you've had a drink or two. Even Yash, my husband, was dragged along to the odd ceili by his working colleagues back in the days when he lived in Ireland, before we met. There's this great dance called the Walls of Limerick. All you need is a partner and to throw away your inhibitions. Every couple in the room dances opposite another couple, changing places as they go. Then they dance with the next couple. And the next. Before you can say 'slainte' (the Irish toast, meaning 'health') you have danced with every couple in the room. The Walls of Limerick is the best icebreaker I've ever known. Then there's the waltzing. That's classy stuff. I quite fancy the idea, even today, of being whirled around to a nice Strauss waltz in a fancy ballroom in my designer gown, especially in the arms of someone handsome (Now that's a wild fantasy). I went to waltzing classes in my youth and the skill has never left me. Who knows, maybe the day will come? As for that disco dancing stuff? Well, I wasn't bad at that I suppose. I sort of preferred the headbanging stuff, though, you know? Not much skill involved there, really. You just sort of stood on the spot with a bored look on your face and shook your hair around. That's one of the reasons I grew my hair long. I quite fancied myself as this cool rock chick. As if......

So? Dominion and Stewardship? That's about leadership, right? Well, I did a course on leadership skills once and I learnt something pretty astounding. A leader is one who serves. A leader isn't the person who goes around shouting instructions at others and scolding everyone. People like that are ego driven, although they may be great for getting things done sometimes. The real leader, however, could be the person who switches off the light after the last person leaves the room. Now, for some reason, that resonated with me. A leader is one who serves. Who could teach us that better than the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ the Saviour of humanity. He is an example of perfect love and perfect service. I often read the passages about him in the New Testament and I simply marvel at His dignity when, having been tortured and about to be sentenced to death for a crime He did not commit, He was questioned by Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. In the film 'The Passion of the Christ', he seems to be speaking to Pilate in Latin. Pilate was asking Him did He know that he could have Him reprieved or sentenced to death. Jesus simply told Pilate that he would have no authority over Him if it hadn't been given to him from above.

This weekend I am saddened by the news from Ireland that the leadership of the Catholic Church in Rome has silenced a wonderful Irish priest, Fr. Brian Darcy. He has been writing a religious column in a tabloid Sunday newspaper since I was a child. He is outspoken on religious matters, but his commitment to Christ has never been in doubt. You can read about it here if you wish. Just think. For years in Ireland, we grew up with this idea that the priests are God's representatives on earth. We must never speak badly of them or question them. Then, at the age of 46, I learnt that many of the priests who were involved in my own religious formation were leading sinful lives and using the Church to cover up their misdeeds. And instead of ushering in an era of openness, the Catholic Church tries to silence the few priests that are outspoken about these horrible matters. These matters need to come out in the open and priests like Fr. Darcy are needed more than ever. The leadership of the Catholic Church have dominion and stewardship over the minds and hearts of millions. In my eyes, they have failed. And failed. And failed.

This is the weekly post for my blogging group, the Loose Blogging Consortium. We post weekly (usually simultaneously) on a given topic and visit each other to see the different takes we have on the same topic. We are, in alphabetical order, Delirious, Rummuser, Grannymar, Magpie, Maria SF, ocdwriter, Padmum, Paul,Rohit , The Old Fossil and Will. If you have time, please visit my friends too. This topic 'Dominion and Stewardship' was suggested by Magpie.

62 comments:

David(Magpie)
said...

The Walls of Limerick? The Seige of Ennis? Waves of Tory? Lannigan's Ball? The Bridge of Athlone?

Great fun.... I remeber the first tiem I was asked to call The Seige of Ennis at a wedding.... I had never learned it and had no notes...about six people tried to teach me six different versions... so I got an eleven year old boy to help me.... I used the version the Nuns had taught him just that week.

You're right... there is no greater ice breaker than a sicilian circle formation dance, couple facing couple...and then a litle bit later in the evening a progressive circle dance wher eeveryone changes partners each turn.... a version of Rinnce Mor can be used.... The bride gets to dance with several men and the groom with sveral girls... a last fling?

One of the last events I MC'd was intersting.... the sister of a great guitarist was celebrating her Civil Partnership and requested my presence to organise the dances and dancers.The band were a cracking selection of musicians from the Irish scene in London. On the way home this conversation ensued,"Sure, that's the first gay wedding I've played at.""And an Irsih Gay wedding at that."Me, quietly from the back of the car, "It was an Irish, Buddhist, Gay wedding." The car swerved quite alarmingly and we had to stop so that the driver could stop laughing.The "Bride" was a Buddhist.

Dominion and Stewardship came at the end of a list of suggestions I made earlier and before I closed my own blog. It seemed the logical subject to follow Birds and fishes and things of that ilk. I had in mind the arrogant idea that so many humans have of their being granted dominion over the rest of life on the planet. I prefer to think that we should be stewards. The two words are not really synonyms.